JOHNSTOWN – With any drama in the team race long settled, the only questions remaining as the Division I district girls golf tournament wound down Oct. 6 were who would earn the two individual berths to state and how low Olentangy’s Jodie Han and Meadow Tian would score.
Tian’s 49-foot putt for birdie on No. 18 at the Links at Echo Springs punctuated a team score of 292, Olentangy’s first district championship and the Braves’ first team state berth since 2022.
The senior and Illinois commit shot a 6-under par 66 to finish second, three shots behind Han. Tian, last year’s state runner-up, will play in her fourth state tournament, having never finished below sixth in the event.
She birdied five of the final eight holes.
“I just tried to take this one shot at a time,” Tian said. “We have a whole different team than we did when I was a freshman. This is special. We are really excited to go as a group.”
Han, a sophomore who shot a 61 on Sept. 4 during the Olentangy Invitational at Oakhaven, had a 31 on the front nine and 32 on the back nine to earn medalist honors. Five of her nine birdies came on the front, and Han did not have a bogey.
“I shot a 76 here (at district) last year and it hurt my confidence a little bit, so coming in here I just tried to do better,” Han said. “With it being Meadow’s senior year, it means a lot to win this. We had a lot of confidence coming in. … Today was all about my putting. I had five birdies in a row (on Nos. 8-12); I was just making every putt.”
Juniors Aubrey Davis (79), Kaylee Keys (84) and Sophia Dreischarf (87) also competed for Olentangy.
Rounds of 74 from sophomores Adella Pawlowski and Nikitha Suresh led Dublin Jerome to second place (308) and the other team berth to state Oct. 12 and 13 at Firestone Country Club in Akron.
Sophomore Mallory Quickel shot a 78 and junior Mingyuan Zheng and freshman Maya Faustino each came in at 82 for Jerome, which will be making its fourth consecutive trip to state and 13th overall. The school opened in 2004.
“We hit a rough spot around (Nos.) 6-9 and we were sixth or so as a team, but one thing the girls have done all year is respond to pressure like champs,” Celtics coach CD Butcher said. “They turned it around and closed it out. These girls do not get rattled. It is a great equalizer to know they are going to finish strong.”
New Albany was third (312), followed by Olentangy Orange (327), Dublin Coffman (329), Olentangy Berlin (331), Upper Arlington (340), Big Walnut (342), Granville (350), Watterson (361), Gahanna Lincoln (380) and Olentangy Liberty (383).
Eighteen players finished at 79 or better.
Worthington Kilbourne’s Anderson, New Albany’s Baker earn individual state berths
Kilbourne senior Bella Anderson worked her way back to the season’s final weekend, shooting a 70 to finish third and earn her first state berth since her freshman year.
Four of Anderson’s five birdies came during her 32 on the back nine.
She lost in a three-way playoff berth for the final state berth last year at Echo Springs.
“I had a double-bogey on No. 5 and that’s where I told myself I really needed to turn my round around,” Anderson said. “I just told myself to make as many birdies as I could on the front, then see how low I could go on the back.”
New Albany’s Brooke Baker grabbed the other state berth, shooting 35 on the front nine and 38 on the back to finish fourth (73). Baker, a Xavier lacrosse commit, earned the final state berth by two shots over Olentangy Orange senior and Xavier commit Adeline Ricker and Upper Arlington freshman Eva Emerson.
“I had 12 putts on the front nine and that really got me going,” Baker said. “As the day took off, I realized I could actually do this. I never thought this would be in the cards for me.”
While New Albany’s team streak of state appearances ended at seven, the program will be represented for the ninth consecutive year.
High school sports reporter Dave Purpura can be reached at dpurpura@dispatch.com and at @dp_dispatch on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Jodie Han’s 63 leads Olentangy girls golf to OHSAA Division I district title, state berth
Reporting by Dave Purpura, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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